Queensland Government to introduce e-scooter regulations after rise in serious crashes

The Transport Minister has sensationally attacked Brisbane City Council on the eve of a summit on e-scooter safety.

State Transport Minister Bailey has sensationally claimed Brisbane City Council “listens to no one” on the eve of a meeting to address e-scooter safety as serious crashes continue to rise.

The State Government is set to introduce new legislation in response to the crisis.

Speaking on Wednesday’s roundtable, which will be attended by more than 50 stakeholders to address electric scooter safety, Mr Bailey said council “jumped the gun” and imposed a curfew on e-scooters without listening to key voices on the issue.

“The purpose of the roundtable is to listen to stakeholders, and they’ve made a rule change without listening to anybody,” Mr Bailey said.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey is keen to hear the priorities and concerns of all stakeholders when he hosts an e-scooter safety roundtable on Wednesday.

“They’ve jumped the gun and made rule changes just two days before the event.”

But Brisbane City Council transport chairman Ryan Murphy said the plan to introduce a late-night curfew had been made as early as July.

“At this stage, this is only a trial and we welcome feedback from Minister Bailey and other stakeholders,” Cr Murphy said.

“However I think we can all agree that nothing good happens after midnight, at least as far as e-scooters are concerned.”

Brisbane City Council introduced an e-scooter curfew in night-life precincts to help curb ‘pointless, alcohol-fuelled’ injuries.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Cr Ryan Murphy earlier this year riding e-scooters. Picture: Josh Woning.

Paramedics have been called to at least one e-scooter crash a week in Brisbane this year, however, serious incidents are rising with 12 reported in the past month.

Of the roundtable, Mr Bailey said: “Share providers, scooter retailers and user groups have been invited to attend alongside Brisbane City Council, disability advocacy groups, and road safety organisations.”

Each stakeholder would have five minutes to address what they believed were the most pressing issues for retailers, users, motorists and pedestrians.

Authorities attending the scene of an e-scooter crash in Brisbane earlier this year. Picture: David Clark

Mr Bailey said key themes from the roundtable would be used by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to consider appropriate regulations to reduce injuries on the popular scooters.

He said Brisbane e-scooter use was double the national average and second only to Canberra.

“We’ve seen a massive uptake in active transport over the past year, which is great for the environment, good for health and wellbeing and helps to reduce congestion on our roads,” he said.

“That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure we get the balance right when deciding the pathway forward.”